Dust flux, Vostok ice core

Two dimensional phase space reconstruction of dust flux from the Vostok core over the period 186-4 ka using the time derivative method. Dust flux on the x-axis, rate of change is on the y-axis. From Gipp (2001).

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Bamboo slips in Changsha

What shows us the most about ancient civilizations?

We learn the most from mundane records. Bills of
sale. Tax receipts. Water charges. Land registries. Most of these things would
go unremarked in our civilization—we always imagine that people in the future
will know of us through high literature, or the bible, or something. But the
boring records of land taxes and the like, which are piling up in all the
offices of governments everywhere, will give the most vivid picture of our
society.

It may seem disappointing that one day archaeologists will
be studying Hansard and interpreting the ins and outs of Canadian
fuddle-duddling from the words therein. As opposed to reading Robertson Davies
or Atwood, or maybe Mowat. Of course, it could be worse. Perhaps the only documents you might find would be the minutes of the meeting in which the Reform Party was founded.

One fairly recent discovery of this type is on display at
the Bamboo Slips Museum in Changsha. The
bamboo slips are thins rods of bamboo, on which were written the detailed
administrative records of an ancient city in China. Tax records, land
transfers, sales—all recorded on more than 100,000 wooden strips, some of which
are seen below.

The museum itself is a modern-looking building, festooned
with bamboo trees. Unfortunately, like many Chinese museums, there is a lot of
wasted space inside.

Different forms of slips include narrow bamboo slips, and
wider tiles. Don’t ask me to interpret what is on them.

Given today's preference for digital records, it is entirely possible that we will leave nothing readable behind. That is a slightly different problem than not leaving behind anything worth reading, which is another distinct possibility.